News   Mar 28, 2024
 1.1K     2 
News   Mar 28, 2024
 577     2 
News   Mar 28, 2024
 878     0 

Princess of Wales Theatre COMPLETE

christiesplits

Senior Member
Member Bio
Joined
Apr 12, 2008
Messages
4,692
Reaction score
4,194
Location
Toronto
I want to get people's thoughts about the exterior, interior, seating, sound etc. Its the only major Toronto theatre I have yet to be inside, and I wanted to grasp any differences/similarities with its Royal Alex and Canon brother and sister.

I know its a fairly new building, less than twenty years old. Was there a lot of buzz when it was built?

I've also found few if any shots of the interior and stage, even after a thorough search through flickr. Does anyone have pics?
 
I want to get people's thoughts about the exterior, interior, seating, sound etc. Its the only major Toronto theatre I have yet to be inside, and I wanted to grasp any differences/similarities with its Royal Alex and Canon brother and sister.

I know its a fairly new building, less than twenty years old. Was there a lot of buzz when it was built?

I've also found few if any shots of the interior and stage, even after a thorough search through flickr. Does anyone have pics?

Yes, there was quite a bit of buzz. I was only in middle school (I don't remember whether it was Grade 6 or 7, but somewhere around that time)when they were building it in the early 90s and the theatre's first show was Miss Saigon (lots of controversy with that).

The theatre's interior is kind of 90s, and is therefore really different from the Royal Alex and Pant...um, I mean Canon.
 
These are the only photos I could find at the moment; the seating chart from Mirvish is probably the most useful. The Princess of Wales is easily the most comfortable of the downtown theatres, far more so than its much older sister, The Royal Alex or its tarted up cousin, The Canon. That means more leg room, better sight-lines, elevator access, what used to be thought swank washrooms, and good amplified sound. And of course, the FranK Stella murals are quite cool.

There was a LOT of buzz when it was first built; the first new, purpose-built theatre in North America in thirty years (at that time) and the first privately owned theatre to be built in Canada since the Royal Alex in 1907.


http://www.mirvish.com/SeatingCharts/

http://www.planetmall.ca/som/show/princess.php

http://www.planetmall.ca/som/show/princess.php
 
Last edited:
The sightlines are very good but I recall a pillar in one of the balconies slightly blocking my view many years ago but it's possible that I have the wrong theatre. The other thing that can affect the view of the stage (as is with many live theatre venues) is how the show's sets are designed and setup. As mentioned above, it has all the modern amenities especially noteworthy are the seats and legroom. I think the interior is quite extravagant for a fairly new theatre, I've seen a few live venues that are far less impressive. The outside is fine, it's easy enough to walk by and judge that for yourself. The theatre has a big stage, all the latest digital lighting doo-dads (a friend of mine is a union tech. guy there so that's how I know that) and the acoustics are very good, somewhat warm I might say.
I've only been in there five or six times but I've always enjoyed my experience there.
Phone and see if they do tours. Many live venues do tours on a somewhat frequent basis (often weekly), especially in the summer or when popular shows are booked.
 
I like this theatre, except the fountain style hand basins. I always seem to walk out of the bathroom looking like i've peed on myself.
 
Wouldn't be so bad if they gave them a rubdown with some CLR now and then. Ever since The Lion King closed, they've really let bathroom maintenance slide.
 
I suspect a reason who PoW is taken for granted today is that, architecturally speaking, it's so much part of a Francis Fukuyama "end of history" moment. Not too modern; not too post-modern; not too trendy; not too reactionary; urbanistically "good-mannered" to the max...and yet, is that all there is?
 
^ I think that we will come to appreciate it more in the future for just that very reason.
 
I've also found few if any shots of the interior and stage, even after a thorough search through flickr. Does anyone have pics?

Exterior today -

Click on the thumbnail to enlarge, then click again on the image for full size.



For good measure, the beautiful front of the Royal Alex -



There's some good programming coming up, including Topol in "Fiddler on the Roof" this winter.
 
Is the Alex dark right now?


It is, now that "Dirty Dancing" is done. As far as I can see, the next Mirvish production slated for the Royal Alex is "The Boys in The Photograph" beginning on September 22nd.
 

Back
Top